


Inheritance

by entiegon



Series: Nya and Jay explain Skybound [1]
Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Eavesdropping, Ed and Edna are hard to write, F/M, Family, Gen, Jay can cook, Jay gains his inheritance, Jay has anxiety, Jay is main focus, Jay panics alot, Jay's a motormouth, My First AO3 Post, after Skybound events, made up recipes, other ninja are background characters, story happens after season 10
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-12
Updated: 2019-12-26
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:35:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21766168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/entiegon/pseuds/entiegon
Summary: For over a year, Jay has wondered when he was going to be told that he was adopted and when he was going to get his inheritance. He also thought that he was going to be told in his family trailer back in the junkyard. He just never imagined it would be at the monastery and in the middle of training. Or that he would panic so much because of it.This is my first story on AO3. Story can also be found on fanfiction.net
Relationships: Nya/Jay Walker
Series: Nya and Jay explain Skybound [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1600861
Comments: 5
Kudos: 80





	1. chapter 1

It was a fairly quiet day when the news arrived. Jay had been training in the Monastery courtyard with the other ninja; his sparring partner this time had been Zane. And Zane knew all of his weak points… which he gladly found whenever the Lightning Ninja got distracted.

It just so happened that that day was full of distractions. From the nightmare he had had the night before continuously playing on his mind, to the nightmare that was Cole beating him senseless at the new video game that they had all just received in the mail the other day. Everything just wanted to gain Jay’s attention. And they were using every opportunity to do so.

But the biggest distraction came not from anything around the Monastery of Spinjitsu, but from something a little closer to home.

“ Oh, I do hope that Jay is home this time.” A voice came from the other side of the Monastery gates, easily making Jay miss his target as he recognised his mother’s voice almost instantly. “ It was a shame we couldn’t get this to him before the fiasco in the city.”

Needless to say, practice was cut short when a knock on the gates echoed through the courtyard. Jay picked himself up from the last attack that Zane threw at him and started towards the gates. Kai beat him to it, though, and opened the doors to reveal Ed and Edna Walker, looking somewhat relieved at finding the ninja there.

“ Mr and Mrs Walker! What a surprise to see you up here.” Kai called with a smile.

“ Oh, hello, dear.” Edna smiled. “ Have you seen Jay? We need to – Oh there he is.”

Jay stepped out from behind Kai as his mother spoke, highly aware of the other ninja turning their focus on him and his parents.

“ Hi Mum, Dad.” The blue ninja said with a small wave.

“ There’s my boy!” Ed exclaimed happily as he clasped a hand on Jay’s shoulder. “ Glad to see you safe from that giant rock monster thingamabob. I knew you’d be able to give it the old Walker one two.”

“ Now, Ed. I’m sure he knew what he was doing. He is a grown ninja, dear.” His wife said, coming up beside her husband to give Jay a hug.

“ And don’t I know it.”

But there was something sad in their eyes, even as they spoke. And Jay could see it clearly. Even worse was that he had seen it before. It was a sadness that told him that he was about to find out the deepest most hidden secret that his parents owned… one that neither of them had been able to tell him until he had charged into the trailer that one fateful day after he had made his stupid first wish in front of Nadakhan.

He had to swallow just to get the sand out of his throat before he spoke next. “ What, uh… what brings you here?”

“ Well, I’m making this new Gogopo doohickey flyer thing that I was hoping could be useful in your fights against all the baddies in Ninjago, but I realised that I was missing a skizzlepop-looplab furnace nozzle to finish the job. So I was wondering if you maybe had-” Ed started before being cut off by Edna.

“ I don’t think that’s what he was talking about, honey-bunch.” Edna placed a hand on her husband’s arm. “ Don’t you remember that letter we got last year?”

“ Uh… Letter?” Jay asked, shooting a quick glance over to Nya who immediately started to force the other boys into the monastery. _And why would they wait an entire year before they… oh, right. Realm of Oni and Dragons. Sons of Garmadon. Krux and Acronix._

Quietly, Edna rummaged through her purse and pulled out an envelope that looked suspiciously like the one the Postman had given him that same day. Hesitantly, Jay took the letter. He knew what the letter would say. It was from Cliff Gordon’s Executor saying that he owned the estate as well as a lot of money. Well _“lots and lots and lots of money.”_ according to the words that he remembered were written on the paper. But still he opened the letter and read what it said, trying to play down that he knew all about it already.

“ I don’t… I don’t understand.” He sighed, looking from the letter to his father, trying to play his confusion well despite knowing the truth.

Ed and Edna looked at each other, almost as if convincing themselves that they had to continue with what they were doing and not get cold feet about it.

Finally, Edna spoke. “ Well, Jay, there has been something we’ve been meaning to tell you.”

“ Ah. But, uh, gee-willickers. There was just no easy way to say it, heh. You see, son, you’re, uh… you’re adopted.” Ed added, taking his wife’s lead.

For all Jay had prepared himself for this day, he never once thought that the news would still hurt. The ice arrow that had entered his chest when he had first heard those very words came flying right back to him. Though it seemed to have melted slightly the second time around. The pain didn’t feel as bad as it originally had.

Either way, Ed and Edna only seemed to notice the shock on their adopted son’s face and continued trying to explain what had happened.

Edna then rummaged through her bag again, this time producing a familiar looking yellow piece of paper and a star-shaped key tied to a red ribbon. “ Oh, you were left at our doorstep when you were just a baby, along with this address and key. Oh, you were just so gosh darn cute.”

“ And we gladly raised you as our own ever since.” Ed added with a small smile that almost instantly faded away as a dark thought crossed his mind. “ Yeah. We’re sorry son. I-I-I hope this doesn’t change anything.”

That brought Jay out of his stupor.

“ No.” He said, shaking his head. “ No, you’re still my parents. You raised me after all. And for that I am eternally grateful.”

“ You know, Edna, this great invention of ours may not have been our creation, but it just goes to show that it doesn’t matter who your family is… family is everywhere.” Jay’s father couldn’t help but beam proudly at his son’s words.

Edna could do nothing except fling her arms around Jay’s neck, almost squeezing the life out of him, as tears started running down her face. Somehow, though, she still had hold of the address and key. But at that moment, as Ed joined in on the embrace, Jay couldn’t care about the villa or the money that his birth father had left him. He was just happy to live in the moment.

Until he heard the sound of the temple doors closing softly. Instantly he knew that, at least, one of his brothers had been spying on him. Probably all of them if Jay had to be honest. He’d have to deal with them later. But not now.

Right now, his parents were guests of the monastery and they had no doubt had a long journey there from the Sea of Sands. Gently, Jay pulled away from the hug and went to grab the key his mother had been about to give him. She gladly relinquished the items almost as if she were relinquishing a heavy burden that had been hanging over her shoulders.

“ You two must be tired from coming all the way up here.” The blue ninja said once the key was in his hands. “ Why don’t you stay for lunch? I can cook for you.”

“ That would be lovely, dear. Thank you.” Edna smiled.

“ Yes, thank you, son.” Ed added, already getting excited by the prospect of once more eating one of Jay’s meals.

With that, Jay led his parents towards the monastery kitchen, giving them a short tour as they headed to their destination. As they walked, a smile spread across Jay’s face. A warm smile that made him realise that he would never again even think about wishing away the love he received from his ‘junkyard family’. It was, after all, that same junkyard family who had turned him into the man he currently was.

Ed and Edna may not have been his birth parents, but it was the love they had for him and the things they taught him all through his life that he would never forget. And he was stupid to have even thought that he was ashamed of those priceless moments. He saw that now.

So he was going to start with the ‘thank you’s in one of the only ways he knew how… by giving back to them. That meant cooking one of his greatest culinary creations that he knew they both loved. It was just a bonus that it was a meal that his mother had helped teach him. A meal the other ninja had yet to taste – more often than not – due to the lack of needed ingredients. And that was mainly thanks to Cole always using them for his own odd concoctions.

Speaking of odd concoctions, Cole was already in the kitchen when the Walkers finally arrived at their destination. The black ninja was rummaging through the cabinets looking for ingredients to put in his own lunch plans… including the krakenberries that Jay had obviously failed at hiding in the fridge. Thankfully, however, he had yet to actually start on those plans.

“ Hey, Cole.” Jay called out, effectively stopping his friend’s search of the spice cupboard. “ It’s okay. I’ve got lunch this time.”

“ But…”

Cole didn’t get to finish his rebuttal thanks to the pleading look the ninja of lightning was giving him. It was a common look, with the big blue eyes and the slight upward turn of the lips, that the blue ninja seemed to reserve for whenever he wanted to play a certain video game or wanted the last piece of pizza or candy. Not to mention, he seemed to use it on his best friend quite a lot… which, in turn, usually got him what he wanted. And just one look at his friend’s parents, smiling just behind him, told Cole that Jay had won yet again.

“ Fine.” He sighed, relinquishing the kitchen. “ How much of a tour did you give or did you make a bee-line for the kitchen to stop me?”

“ Oh, we got a small tour on our way here, dearie.” Edna explained in the warmest way ever.

“ Would you like me to give you the full tour while Jay’s busy cooking?”

“ What a lovely idea!” The older woman practically squealed in delight before suddenly remembering that her husband and son were also present in the room. “ Oh, I hope you boys don’t mind.”

“ Not at all, Mum. I’ll have lunch ready for you in a jiffy.” Jay replied, relief washing over his features at the suggestion. “ And thanks, Cole. I’ll make sure you get an extra big slice.”

Instantly, Cole perked up. “ Of what? Cake?”

Jay couldn’t help but laugh. “ Not cake, my friend. My krakenberry pie.”

“ You hear that, Edna. We’re going to be having some of that amazing krakenberry pie I’ve been starting to crave.” Ed spoke up, a gleam in his eye at the thought of the pie.

“ That we are dear.” Edna replied with a smile of her own. “ And I can’t wait to have some myself. But we have a tour that dear Cole is going to take us on, remember?”

“ Of course. Ya know, I’ve always wanted to know how my little inventor spends his days when he’s not saving the day.”

“ ‘Little inventor’?” Cole asked, intrigued by the possibility of humiliating his friend.

“ Oh I can still remember Jay’s Tele-Marshal Whippet Engine. It only lasted for fifteen minutes until I needed to use the telephone that Jay had turned into its head but…”

Jay watched as Cole led his parents back down the hallway that they had come, trying to hide the tint of red that he was sure was creeping across his cheeks at just the mention of one of his first inventions. But even as he watched Cole lead the way, he noticed something hidden deep underneath the amused and slightly questioning look on his friend’s face. It was almost like a longing for something that he could no longer have.

With a shake of his head, the blue ninja turned his mind to focus on making lunch. He could question Cole about it later… if he remembered… or if the time was right. But right now, he had a tuga fish and lemon dill curry to make and a krakenberry pie to go with it for dessert.


	2. Chapter 2

Jay was halfway through making the massive pot of curry, adding the spices that he had hidden from Cole a week before when he had been previously planning on making the dish, when Nya walked into the kitchen. Ever since his parents had finished their tour of the monastery and had entered the lounge room where they were now telling the others about young Jay’s many gadgets and adventures, she had wanted to talk with her boyfriend. But she couldn’t help the smile from spreading across her face as the warmth that surrounded the kitchen (both in smell and in feel) almost seemed to wash over her as she entered the room.

“ What’cha making?” She asked, alerting Jay of her presence.

“ Tuga fish and lemon dill curry.” Jay replied, managing to take a break in his cooking to turn around with a lopsided grin on his face and scratching the back of his neck in clear embarrassment. “ It’s something my mum helped me learn how to cook. I admit, I did play around with the recipe at first, kind of like how Cole likes to add things to his meals, but it seemed to turn out alright and mum and dad liked it so I kept making it and making it and it’s kind of become my signature dish along with the krakenberry pie I’m also making for dessert and I’ve been wanting to make them both for you guys since forever but I never could because Cole would always steal the ingredients for his concoctions but now that mum and dad are here for the first time, I’ve managed to kick Cole out of the kitchen so that I can make this for them now and…”

“ Jay! Jay breathe.” Nya interrupted, afraid that Jay was going to talk himself out air, as she made her way to her boyfriend’s side. “ It all smells and sounds delicious. I can’t wait to try it.”

That made Jay smile.

To be honest, even though his parents were at the monastery and had ‘officially’ told him about his being adopted, as he was cooking his meal, he almost couldn’t contain the nervousness he didn’t know he was feeling until those six words had come out of Nya’s mouth. It was like he was trying to impress the other ninja with his cooking skills all over again despite knowing that he didn’t need to. He knew everyone at least liked his food, but it was also like he was craving their approval on his ‘signature dishes’ at the same time… like making these dishes for them was the final piece of the puzzle that was his family.

But then he noticed the look on Nya’s face as she noticed the red ribbon peeking out from his pocket. It was clear from the dark look that invaded her eyes at the sight that she was remembering the times where he had told her, Cole and Lloyd rather hurriedly, beseechingly, that he was adopted back on Tiger Widow Island and again when the two of them were hiding out in the lighthouse.

But she didn’t say anything. Even as Jay turned back to his cooking to make sure that the curry wasn’t going to be ruined in any way, she remained silent.

And her silence was starting to nag at the back of Jay’s mind.

Finally, after turning away from his curry to let it cook some more, the blue ninja broke. “ So… who’s bright idea was it to listen in on my parents telling me that I was adopted?”

“ My brother. Who else?” Nya scoffed.

“ Should have known.”

“ I did try and stop them, you know. And I would have done fine if it was just Kai, but then Cole liked the idea as well and they heard your father say… what he said and that’s when I lost all of them. Lloyd and Zane were willing to side with me at first. I had to literally get in between them and the door before I could get them to leave you guys in peace.”

Jay smiled at his girlfriend, hoping that she was able to see that he really was thankful for what she had done and tried to do. “ It’s okay, Nya. I’ll just deal with them later. After mum and dad leave.”

“ You’re not upset about being adopted?” The water ninja asked.

“ I told you before, back in the lighthouse that time, it doesn’t matter. They took me in and cared for me. They raised me. And I love them for that. So, they’ll always be my parents… even if I do wonder about the truth, why I was left at the junkyard, why I was never, I don’t know, found, contacted, earlier. Guess I’ll never know, though. Cliff Gordon is dead, so I can’t ask him, and who knows what happened to my biological mother.”

“ You know we’ll help you find her, if that’s what you want.”

“ Of course I do. I just… maybe I’m not ready yet. Heck, maybe I’ll never be ready.”

Nya could only place a loving hand on Jay’s shoulder in an attempt to let him know that, no matter what his choice was, no matter how long it took for him to make it or however long it took to even complete the search, she would be by his side every step of the way.

And yet, even despite all this, she could sense that something else was playing on the lightning master’s mind. She was almost afraid to ask, so she chose instead to wait patiently as Jay continued to tamper with the flavours of the curry he had gone back to making.

They stood for a while in silence as Jay worked, but eventually that silence was broken by the usually talkative ninja.

“ You know, I’ve been thinking,” He almost sighed, rushing his thoughts as he got further into his nervous speech, “ and I know that’s a dangerous thing in its own right, but maybe we should start telling the others about what happened with Nadakhan and his sky pirates. I mean, we’ve already told Master Wu. That’s why that stupid djinn is on the wall outside. And, as long as Wu lets me, I’ll be heading out tomorrow morning to get all of this legal mumbo jumbo done that comes with gaining an inheritance and you guys will probably want to go see the villa, so we’d do that when I got back or at least when I was done, but I’m afraid if I start explaining things to the others about me being Cliff Gordon’s son then something else will slip out and then we’d have to tell them about Nadakhan anyway because Kai will most definitely try and pressure me for information and if not him then Lloyd or Cole will and we all know that Zane will just look at me as if expecting me to talk and I know that if that happens then I will break down because that will definitely happen. Plus, I’m pretty sure that Pixal will be a lot like Zane, so that won’t help.”

“ Jay, you’re rambling again.” Nya interrupted for the second time that day.

“ I know, I just… we’re going to have to tell them. They already look at the image of Nadakhan with confused looks on their faces; I’ve seen it on more than one occasion on Kai’s face. You know, he’s not that subtle about it. And I know the guys just think of me as being weird whenever I accidentally slip up on the secret. I mean, I can’t even look at my old pirate costume without flinching these days and I know the others notice.” Jay fell silent for a few minutes as he tasted his curry yet again to make sure it was right before continuing where he left off. “ I don’t know about you, Nya, but keeping this particular secret is getting harder and harder by the day.”

Silence fell over the two of them at that point. They both knew that Jay was right. Nya herself remembered being questioned endlessly by her brother about how she had learnt how to do airjitsu in – essentially – a matter of seconds as soon as they were clear from the hospital roof that time. She had managed to pull it off, but she had also noticed that Jay was struggling with keeping the secret what with his enhanced jumpiness and somewhat extreme reactions to spiders and even just the word ‘wish’. Not to mention the nightmares that would often wake the others up.

At that moment, the timer for the oven went off, effectively making both Nya and Jay jump in fright at the noise that had pulled them from their thoughts.

“ Pie’s ready.” Jay chuckled.

He hurried to get a cooling rack ready on the bench before moving to the oven and pulling out the pie. The smell that poured from the dessert was as delectable as the smell of the curry and made Nya’s mouth water. And the warm golden glow coming from the pastry as Jay removed it from the tin was almost begging to be eaten. But the thing that made Nya smile was the top of the pie; an octopus similar to the one on some of Jay’s earlier uniforms sat happily on top of a purplish-pink sea of berries.

Of course, almost as soon as the pie had come out of the oven, a third person entered the kitchen as if being guided by the pie’s aroma. The black ninja crept up behind his best friend to take a look at the pastry that had been calling him… and barked a laugh right in the blue ninja’s ear at the sight of the image on the pie’s crust.

“ Really, Jay? An octopus?” He asked as Jay leapt away from him in fright.

“ Well it is a krakenberry pie and they do say that krakens are monstrous giant octopus-like sea monsters!” Jay huffed in reply.

“ Well, whatever. Just as long as you remember to give me a bigger slice than the others. I could smell this thing from all the way in the lounge room… and you own me for that tour I gave your, uh, parents.”

“ You know, thinking on how I know you were eavesdropping on me and my parents earlier, I may not give you that extra big slice of my pie. I might give it to Nya instead.”

“ Come on, Jay.”

But Jay ignored him and turned to face his girlfriend who had been hoping to stay out of this little argument. “ What do you say, Nya, would you like an extra big slice of my famous krakenberry pie?”

“ Jay.” The water ninja sighed.

“ Okay, I’m sorry, Jay.” Cole butted in before Nya could say anything else, running a hand through his black hair. “ I shouldn’t have eavesdropped. None of us should have. Just tell me what I need to do to make it up to you.”

Jay placed his hand on his chin in the universal gesture of thinking, but with the dark look still clearly present in the teen’s eyes, it was clear to both Cole and Nya that eavesdropping on this particular conversation was a pretty serious offense. And that meant that all of the boys were going to get into some deep trouble. Even so, the usually jovial ninja turned to face the rice cooker he seemed to have just remembered was on before turning back to his brother.

“ Lunch will be ready in about ten minutes.” He said instead. “ Can you let everyone know?”

“ Sure.” Cole replied with a nod.

“ I’ll start setting the table.” Nya added, already reaching for the cutlery.

Jay only nodded at the help, but it was clear from his silence that he was really thinking about what he was going to do to his teammates for having eavesdropped on such a private matter. And, to be honest, it scared Cole. Just like the time he had gone insane back in the First Realm. Just like the time when they had fought each other during the Tournament of Elements (the anger and the betrayal in those blue eyes were still a source of Cole’s nightmares).

But all Cole could do was start back towards the lounge room to complete Jay’s orders.

“ And, Cole,” Jay called, making the Earth ninja stop in the doorway, “ I’m still working on what you _and_ the others are going to do to make it up to me. The tour and letting me make lunch were not enough.”

Cole swallowed, recognising the threat. He was going to have to warn Kai, Lloyd and Zane… without Ed and Edna knowing about what they had done.

He disappeared into the hallway, leaving the lightning and water ninja alone in the kitchen once more.

Nya watched him go, still working on getting the table ready for lunch, but also watching Jay to make sure that he was alright. She could tell it was hard for him to be angry with the others… at least, this angry with them. But she was also worried for their sake as well. Finally, after watching Jay taste his curry for the final time, satisfied that the meal was complete, she took a deep breath and broke the silence that had once more fallen in the kitchen after Cole’s leave.

“ What are you going to do?” She asked.

“ I don’t know. Talk to them. Make them do my chores for a whole month. That’s all that comes to mind for something like this.” He replied with a sigh. “ But I am still going to give Cole that extra big slice of pie that I said I would. As thanks for the tour. He did offer to take my parents on it after all.”

Jay pulled out the bowls for the lunch and placed them on the counter, ready for when the meal was finished, before filling a pitcher with water and placing it on the table while Nya grabbed the glasses and placed them around the table. Once the table was set, the two worked to clean what they could of the kitchen.

Usually, Jay would have left it until after lunch to clean up, but his parents were over. And despite everything that had happened, he still felt that he needed to show them that he was doing just fine. But he also knew that Nya was going to try to take advantage of this little habit of his in the future. He could see it written all over her face as she silently watched his movements.

At the look in her eyes, he wondered if he was the one that should be scared and not the other four ninja.

Speaking of the other four, just as the rice cooker clicked off to signal that the rice was done, Cole led the group from the lounge room into the kitchen area. And by the apologetic and wary looks in the eyes of the four ninja, they were clearly sorry for what they had done to Jay.

Ed and Edna, on the other hand, were absolutely thrilled to be having one of their son’s meals with him after such a long time had passed since the last. In fact, they were still talking about Jay’s many achievements as a child as they took their places at the table. And when Master Wu entered and sat himself at the head of the table by Edna’s side, the three instantly started up a conversation that the younger generation didn’t really understand.

Nya stayed with Jay, however, helping hand out the meal to everyone before taking her own place by Jay’s side, who had taken up seat beside his father.

“ This meal is delicious, Jay. Thank you for making it.” Master Wu said after a few mouthfuls of the curry.

“ Yeah Jay. How come you never made it before?” Cole added, just barely managing to swallow his mouthful before he spoke.

“ Because _someone_ kept on stealing the ingredients before I got a chance to even make it.” Jay huffed.

“ Is that why those weird fish and those purple berries were in the fridge at least once a month?”

“ Yes, Cole. This is why.”

“ Then why didn’t you speak up and kick Cole out of the kitchen sooner?” Kai asked.

“ Hey!” Cole huffed, turning to face the master of fire.

Jay looked down at his food for a second but looked up just as quickly when he felt Nya’s hand rest on his.

“ Because he was waiting for a special time.” She said, inciting a small smile to play on her boyfriend’s lips.

Ed clasped his hand against Jay’s back, his face beaming with pride. “ Well, whatever the reason, it still tastes as good as I remember it, son. Absotively delicious.”

Jay looked around the table, noticing the looks of enjoyment on everyone’s faces. He didn’t want to get his hopes up, sure, but he couldn’t help the tight ball that was forming in his chest. And at this point he couldn’t really tell what that ball was made out of.

“ So you guys like it?” He asked meekly.

“ Like it?” Lloyd repeated. “ Jay, this is great!”

“ Does this not mean anything to you?” Cole asked, showing Jay his now empty bowl as he stood up to head back into the kitchen.

Everyone else also added their agreements to the question, turning the ball in Jay’s chest into one of happiness at the thought that they were all enjoying the food. Cole sat back down with another bowl full of the curry and immediately started digging into it. And just the sight of that second bowl being devoured made the smile on the blue ninja’s face grow.

Still, he couldn’t keep the pie that was resting on the kitchen counter from entering his mind at the sight. And he couldn’t keep the promise of an extra big slice of it to Cole from entering his mind either.

“ Well, don’t eat too much curry, Cole, or you won’t be able to fit in my krakenberry pie.” He said with a hint of a laugh in his voice.

“ Oh, yeah. The pie!” Cole exclaimed happily, clearly having forgotten about it.

The laughter that erupted around the table at Cole’s sudden realisation could not be helped.


	3. chapter 3

Jay woke up early the next morning, not quite sure what the day was going to bring for him. To be honest, he hadn’t been able to get much sleep at all the night before, what with the nightmare he had had combined with the apprehension of what was going to happen that day. But he wanted to get things over and done with while he still could, before he was sent on another world saving mission.

Getting himself ready for the day, he clearly remembered that his lunch from the day before was a hit. Everyone had enjoyed both the tuga fish and lemon dill curry and the krakenberry pie he had made for dessert. Zane even wanted the recipes… though he wasn’t sure if he wanted to share them or not as they were _his_. But his parents had had to leave soon after, and he made a point to spend some time with them… though they also made sure to embarrass him a little more before they left.

Surprisingly, he didn’t mind this time (even if he wouldn’t show it to the others).

Once he had cleaned up the kitchen after their visit, he had gone in search of Master Wu, purposefully ignoring the other boys’ attempts to talk and otherwise apologise to him as he did so. He knew he shouldn’t have, but he just wanted to talk to his master first before confronting his teammates. Plus, he was still mad at them for eavesdropping.

When he had found Master Wu, his teacher had been meditating. But he listened intently to his story (the same story that Jay had conveniently left out of the retelling of the Nadakhan story) about being adopted. And even now Jay swore that Master Wu knew that he was from the beginning.

Regardless, Master Wu had gladly given him the day off to sort things out with whoever he needed to see about the inheritance. The other ninja were to have the afternoon off for if they all wanted to do something once Jay had finished with his duties.

But, after sorting himself out and returning to his room from the bathroom, Jay plumped himself back on his bed and shivered at the memory of what had happened after he had seen Master Wu.

* * *

_“ Jay, we need to talk.” Lloyd said, a seriousness in his voice, once the blue ninja had entered the lounge room._

_“ We most definitely do, Lloyd.” Jay agreed, his own voice gaining a dark edge to it. “ In fact, I need to talk to you, Kai, Cole and Zane.”_

_All of the ninja were in the room - including Nya, who was once more trying to stay out of what was happening - and each one knew that Jay was mad. If the look in his eyes didn’t say anything, then the edge in his voice definitely did. The accused all looked away from Jay, clearly feeling bad about what they had done. But their attentions all returned to the blue ninja the second he started his third rant of the day._

_“ Why would you eavesdrop on my parents, of all people?” Jay started. “ I mean, come on. I don’t eavesdrop on your parents. So why would you think it was okay for you to do it to mine, Kai? And Cole? You’re my best friend! I would have thought you would know better than to do something like that to your best friend. You’re lucky I let you have that extra big slice of pie for sending my parents on that tour. If it weren’t for that tour, you wouldn’t have gotten that much. And I expected you to have grown out of something like that Lloyd. I mean, you’re the leader of this team. Zane, why? I would have thought that you would_ help _Nya stop the eavesdropping, not join in on it.”_

_“ Please forgive me, Jay.” Zane begged. “ I should not have done what I did and I am deeply sorry for the trouble I have caused you… what all of us have caused you.”_

_“ Yeah, sorry, Jay.” Cole added, lowering his head in shame._

_Lloyd couldn’t even speak he was that ashamed of himself._

_And Kai… well, Kai was getting there._

_“ What if I didn’t want you to know?” Jay continued. “ What if I wanted to be able to tell you myself? With something like that… something that sensitive… you can’t just go around eavesdropping like that! I’m your friend! I’m not your enemy! I’ve never wanted to be your enemy.”_

_Silence fell in the lounge room. Kai scratched at the back of his neck, clearly feeling uncomfortable with what he had done. Jay, himself, had tears beginning to pool in his eyes at the violation he had received from his teammates. He couldn’t even look at the others anymore and had turned his head away from them._

_“ Jay…” Kai’s voice was soft, but it instantly gained Jay’s attention. “ I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done it… I wasn’t thinking. It’s my fault the others are in trouble. What do I need to do to make it up to you? I’ll do anything?”_

_“ We all are in the wrong, Kai.” Lloyd finally spoke up. “ And we are all sorry for what we did. So the question is, what do_ we _need to do to make it up to you, Jay?”_

_“ I don’t know.” Jay’s words were soft as he finally spoke. But by the time he had started, he found that he couldn’t stop. “ I don’t know and I’m hurt and - I might as well say it because you guys already know thanks to… well, what you did, but I’m adopted which would explain why I’m not physically like either of my parents, but that doesn’t matter because they’re still my parents, and I’ve got an inheritance from my birth father which is why they were here and that means that I’ll never know who my birth father was because the only way you can get your inheritance is if that person dies and I don’t even know what happened to my birth mother.”_

_The other ninja didn’t know how to respond. They understood that Jay was upset with them and that what they had done was stupid and wrong. But Jay was working himself into one of his anxiety spiels and no one could figure out how he got into it… or how to get him out of it. Not even Cole – who was usually able to pull his friend out of it – didn’t know if he was even allowed to help during this particular spiel thanks to his involvement with its cause._

_“ My birth mother… oh gosh… I don’t even know if she’s alive… or if she’s looking for me… o-or if she even loves me. I don’t even know if I want to find her.”_

_Nya was instantly on her feet from where she was working on something for Pixal while the female nindroid was away at Borg Industries. She rushed over to Jay, placed her hands on his shoulders and forced him to look at her._

_“ Jay, it’s okay.” She said, breaking into his train of thought. “ I’ll help you._ We _will help you. No matter what you decide to do, we will help you find out what happened to your mother. Even if the guys were complete douchebags today, I know they will stop at nothing to help you figure all of this out. And I told you all this back in the kitchen.”_

 _“ She’s right, Jay.” Cole added, standing up and laying a hand on his friend’s back. “ If you want me to go out there and not come back until I’ve found_ anything _about your biological mother, anything at all, I will. I’ll start tonight if you really want me to. Like Nya said, I was a douchebag and shouldn’t have eavesdropped on you and your parents, but I’ll drop everything to help you find your mother.”_

_“ I second that.” Kai spoke up, determination clear in his voice. “ True, when I lost my parents, I never stopped wondering about why they left or if I would ever see them again, but I swear not knowing the truth was eating me up inside. And when I finally did find out, well, I stopped calling them traitors for one, but I was also happy. It was like I’d found some kind of peace that I had been missing before. And you shouldn’t have to go through anything like I did. I’ll help you find your mum if it’s the last thing I do.”_

_Lloyd and Zane also agreed to help, though in much fewer words than either Cole or Kai._

_Jay took a deep breath after that, finally coming back to himself. His friends were willing to look for information on his biological mother even after what they had done. They were willing to help him despite eavesdropping. And something told him that they were also planning on helping him regardless on if he said yes or no to their help… and regardless of how they had found out about him being adopted._

_No one noticed that he wasn’t freaking out as much about his biological father, either, which made even just a small part of Jay’s mind wonder if they suspected that his father was the one who gave him his inheritance. But then he remembered mentioning that the inheritance was from his birth father in the first place, so he passed their silence on the matter to that._

_This led him to wonder if they even suspected that his birth father was actually Cliff Gordon, or even just how he knew that the inheritance had come from his father. To which he started panicking about how he was going to tell them that and if that would then lead to explaining Nadakhan and his sky pirates to the guys and heaven forbid-_

_“ Jay!” Nya’s voice echoed through his mind as he once more focussed on the beautiful face of his girlfriend. “ It’s okay. We’re here for you. We’ll help you through whatever problems you’re thinking about.” She then lowered her voice to whisper in his ear. “ Like we should have done back on that island.”_

_Yes._

_Tiger Widow Island._

_Back when he had first told Lloyd, Cole and Nya that he was adopted in that beseeching way after that fight they had all had, he had gotten the silent treatment and was left to sort out his turmoil on his own. Now that he was given a second chance at their help, he could see that he was slowly pushing that help away without previously knowing what he was doing. The eavesdropping, though probably unavoidable considering all the things he had done to them in the past, but still also unnecessary at the same time, was almost like a tool that his mind was using to try and isolate himself and his problem from the rest of the team._

_And he needed to stop thinking like that. Right now. Before he hurt someone other than himself._

_He almost apologised aloud for his thoughts, too. But just looking at Nya, looking into her hazel green eyes, told the blue ninja that she had an idea on what his thoughts currently were. And her own eyes were telling him that she accepted his silent apology on those thoughts._

_Jay ran a hand through his dark brown curls._

_“ I don’t know what I’m going to do about my birth mother.” He finally said, sounding a lot stronger than what he had previously. “ I still need some time to think on that. But I’m going into Ninjago City tomorrow to sort out my inheritance. Master Wu gave me the day off in case things run over time or something. If I get home in time, I might just share a secret with you all. Right now, though, I need some time to myself.”_

_The blue ninja moved away from the others then, making his way to the lounge room door. He could see that the guys were curious as to what secret he was keeping from them. But he could also see the worry that was just barely visible on Nya’s face at the mention of the word ‘secret’. She didn’t need to fear, though, it wasn’t the secret she thought it was, so he sent her a subtle wink in the hopes that she understood._

_But something stopped him from leaving the room. The reason why he was even in the room in the first place was playing on his mind. Not to mention the sounds of the other ninjas’ sincere apologies were ringing in his ears. And he knew then that he wouldn’t be able to find peace on this matter if he left the room now. He wasn’t one to hold grudges after all._

_“ And guys…” Jay turned around to face his teammates, a genuine smile on his face, “ I forgive you. I probably would have done the same thing.”_

_With that, he was finally out the door._

* * *

And right now, Jay wished he could get his feet to move him out of the door to his bedroom so that he could get on with his day.

But, he admitted, he was nervous. He found out yesterday afternoon – after leaving the lounge room – that he had to go to a place in the city called ‘ _Regent and Angel’s_ _Law Firm’_ and that he had to meet a guy by the name of Guy Regent. Apparently, according to the notes he had taken, this Guy Regent fellow was Cliff Gordon’s lawyer… or was he the executor? Either way, he was the important businessman that he needed to see in order to sort all this out.

What was even more nerve-racking was the fact that this guy had pretty much dropped everything to see him on the only day that Jay was able to get off. Jay wasn’t sure if it was because he was a ninja or if his biological father was Cliff Gordon or both, but he only prayed it wasn’t a trap.

Just in case, he built a tiny tracking device into the top button of the suit he had put on for the day and routed it so that it linked to Nya’s phone. She knew, of course. It was her idea in the first place. Jay was becoming a millionaire after all and, ninja or not, she did not want anything bad to happen to her boyfriend and teammate. So, in the event that he _was_ in trouble, he could easily activate the tracker and let Nya know where he was so that she and the rest of the team could come save him.

Finally, after convincing himself to move for the past ten or so minutes, Jay’s legs decided that it was time to move again. He hurried to grab the backpack that he usually kept in his wardrobe as well as the various forms and papers that he had printed off the day before and filled in to the best of his ability and put them in his bag. Even his more personal items like his wallet and phone were throwing into the bag before he finally managed to convince his legs to carry him out of his room and into the kitchen.

“ Good morning, brother.” Zane’s ever bright voice reached into his mind once he had entered the kitchen.

“ Morning, Zane.” He replied, his nerves seeping into his voice unwillingly.

“ Nervous about today, I suspect.”

“ Yeah.” Jay slumped into one of the chairs at the table. “ I-I mean, I think I have everything I need. A-and I think I know what I need to do. I-it’s just… my father left me a lot of money… and I mean a _lot_ of money. And he left me a house… well, villa. But it’s still a house!”

Zane could only smile at how nervous Jay seemed. Even as he started making breakfast for the team, who were all starting to awaken and enter the kitchen, he could clearly see Jay constantly opening his backpack to make sure that everything was packed and in order. At one point, he heard Jay mumbling to himself about the forms that he was currently triple checking.

“ Perhaps some breakfast will help calm your nerves, Jay.” The Master of Ice suggested. “ Do you have any preferences in mind?”

“ Whatever you decide, Zane.” Jay replied with a sigh, rifling through his papers again to make sure they were all in order. “ Honestly, my mind is too frazzled to think about food at the moment.”

“ I understand. But I also think you should try and calm down. Worrying like this isn’t good for you.”

“ I know that. I just can’t help it.”

Another sigh escaped Jay’s lips as he stared at the papers in front of him without actually focussing on them. Seeing the usually hyperactive ninja so still and obviously stressed beyond belief was an unsettling sight. And Zane was worried. Scared even. Unfortunately, there was nothing that could be done to help ease Jay from the worries of his mind, no matter how much he wished to help.

So, Zane tried to focus on making something that he knew his brother would enjoy and, hopefully, help ease him into a calmer state of mind. Unfortunately, judging by the lack of ingredients to help him make his choice easier, there was really only one thing that could be made… if the number of eggs had anything to do with it. Grabbing the eggs, the somehow untouched cheese and what was left of the ham and mushrooms from their places in the refrigerator, the titanium ninja started making omelettes for breakfast.

About ten minutes later, just as Zane was plating up the second plate of omelettes, Cole made his appearance in the kitchen. Both Zane and Lloyd – who had arrived not long after the nindroid had started cooking – greeted their friend warmly. Jay remained tense and nervous about the day ahead and so didn’t even notice his best friend (or anyone, for that matter) enter the room. It was only when Cole gently placed his hand on his shoulder that the blue ninja realised that someone was there… after jumping a mile into the air and eliciting a short scream at the touch.

“ Easy, Jay. It’s just me.” Cole reassured him as Jay started looking around the room for his supposed attacker, finally noticing Lloyd at the same time.

“ Oh, hey Cole. Hey Lloyd. Didn’t see you guys there.” Jay sheepishly replied as Cole took his seat opposite his friend.

Both Lloyd and Cole shared a quick glance of concern before the latter spoke up again. “ What’s got you worked up, Jay? Or is this about the inheritance thing?”

Jay gave a sigh and returned his focus back on the paperwork in front of him, unknowingly giving Cole his answer as he picked up the nearby pen and started chewing on its end.

“ Don’t worry, Jay. Everything’s going to be fine. It will be over before you even know it.”

“ Not to mention you should start to feel better after having something to eat. Here.” Zane added, walking over and placing a plate of omelette each in front of Lloyd and Jay. “Yours is currently cooking, Cole.”

But Cole had gone silent at the sight of the food. And when Lloyd turned to him to question his silence, he found the black ninja looking at the egg mix on Jay’s plate as if it had offended him somehow. This led the green ninja to look from ninja to plate in a sorry attempt at trying to figure out what the problem was, his confusion clearly showing on his face. And yet, Jay didn’t even seem to notice, instead returning his papers to his backpack before starting his meal.

Finally, Lloyd broke.

“ Um… why are you looking at the omelette like that, Cole?” He cautiously asked, still looking between plate and ninja.

“ Why can’t we have pancakes?” Cole replied with his own question.

At that moment, Kai walked into the room… and judging by the way he was massaging his head and grumbling to himself, he had heard Cole’s question. Either that or he had woken up on the wrong side of the bed again. If that was the case, then everyone was going to be in for a rough time that day.

But it was not the fire master who responded but his little sister, who entered the room right behind her older brother. “ You do realise we had pancakes yesterday for breakfast.”

“ And the day before that, and the day before that.” Kai grumbled. Yep, definitely in a bad mood.

“ And the problem with that is…?” Cole questioned.

“ The problem is that you have a really bad obsession with cake and anything that seems to have the word ‘cake’ in it.”

“ I do not like pancakes just because they have the word ‘cake’ in the name. They’re just a really tasty breakfast option.”

“ That we’ve had for, like, three days in a row, if not more. I can’t even remember the last time we had bacon and eggs for breakfast. And don’t get me started on cereal.”

Zane chose that as the perfect moment to intervene before anything worse happened. “ Then you are in luck, Kai, as we are having ham, cheese and mushroom omelettes for breakfast.”

Kai seemed to perk up at that. “ Haven’t had that in ages.”

Cole still seemed a little grumpy at the thought of omelettes for breakfast. “ That still doesn’t answer my original question, you know. Why can’t we have pancakes?”

“ Because we do not have all the ingredients to make the pancake batter, Cole.” Zane replied, a small smile on his face, as he placed a plate each in front of his two arguing brothers. “ And what we do have, we do not have enough of. Except for one ingredient.”

All eyes watched as Zane returned to the kitchen and the pan awaiting the fifth omelette, the seemingly still abundant supply of eggs sitting on the bench nearby. Well, all except for Jay who was still clearly panicking about what the day was going to bring for him even while he was eating. And though everyone noticed how their brother was acting, they were currently more concerned about trying to work out how they could still have that many eggs in the monastery even after all the dinners and pancake batters that contained the source of protein.

“ Even I do not know how we could have so many eggs in this fridge.” Zane admitted, not even bothering to look at the very things he knew the other ninja were looking at.

No one expected Jay to have the answer though, so they all started and turned to face him when his voice broke the silence that followed Zane’s words.

“ Cole bought three cartons of twenty-four eggs three days ago and so did Misako without knowing that the other had gone to get them. I’m not exactly sure where the rest came from.”

“ And we finally get something out of him other than panic.” Cole almost cheered after getting over his shock.

Jay could only glare at his best friend as he finished his omelette and returned his plate to the kitchen sink. But there was the slightest hint of the old Jay peeking through those blue eyes of his that Cole quickly caught. And, for a second there, the black ninja felt that Jay was starting to calm down from his panic.

That feeling was quickly squashed when Jay returned to his seat between Kai and Nya and went back to multi-checking his forms and everything else that was in his backpack, the end of the pen returning to his mouth.

“ And we lost him again.” Kai snickered, having paused his meal to watch what happened.

“ Guys, leave him alone.” Nya was quick to defend her boyfriend. “ This is a really stressful time for him. He doesn’t need you two making fun of him over it.”

Kai instantly returned to his food to try and ignore his younger sister’s scrutinizing while Cole simply opted to rub at the back of his neck.

“ Sorry, Jay.” The earth ninja mumbled.

Jay just waved him off. “ It’s alright. I need something to distract me anyway.”

“ So you’re using us fighting about eggs and omelettes and you panicking in order to stop yourself from panicking?” Lloyd asked as he returned to the table himself, trying to understand what was going on in his brother’s mind.

“ Basically, yeah. Because if I start panicking about going to this law firm place that I have to go to and meet this Guy Regent person who is either Cliff – I mean my birth father’s executor or lawyer or whoever I need to deal with with this inheritance stuff, then there will be no doubt that the Underworld is either going to swallow me whole somehow or else is going to try and break open Ninjago and wreak unknown havoc all over the place. And there is no way that I want to get kidnapped by Skulkin or, Departed Realm forbid, giant spykor, because no one wants to deal with those giant creepies or any other kind of giant creepy arachnids for that matter. And we all know that if the Underworld does try and take over Ninjago, that they’re going to go for the most panicked and lonely target, which would be me, because I’d be too worked up with all this inheritance mess to even try and defend myself from an invading army of dumb skeletons.”

The other ninja could only look at their friend as he started panicking just like his own motormouth was suggesting. And none of them could fathom how his mind had instantly gone to getting captured by Skulkin when all he was doing was going into the City to claim his inheritance. Not to mention Nya and Zane had barely started eating by the time Jay had started on his panicked rant.

“ Jay. Jay, calm down.” Nya called, forgetting her omelette and grabbing Jay by the shoulders to force him into focussing on her. “ Everything is going to be fine. You’re not going to get captured by Skulkin or giant spiders or swallowed by the Underworld. You’re just going into the City to sort out your inheritance. Nothing bad is going to happen. Besides, if you do get into trouble – and I’m not saying that you’re going to – you can always activate the tracker device and we’ll be right there to break you out. I promise.”

“ Wait. You have a tracker on Jay?” Kai nearly choked on his omelette before he started trying to find said tracker.

“ You didn’t think I’d dress up this much just to go on a business meeting without a bigger reason, did you?” Jay smirked in reply, a hint of his usual self once more peeking through his panic.

“ Um…”

Nya could only giggle at how uncomfortable her brother looked. “ I made him promise to wear a shirt with buttons.”

“ Why?” Cole asked.

“ Because the top button is actually the tracker. Jay made it and I sewed it in last night after everyone had gone to bed.”

“ And here I thought you were just working late on something for Pixal.” Lloyd mused.

Nya merely smiled as she continued eating her breakfast, her hazel green eyes lingering on Jay’s blue ones a little longer than necessary when she noticed the grateful look on his face. He was going to be okay, and they both knew it. It just never hurt to be extra careful… especially when you were a ninja.

The rest of the meal went by in silence for Jay as he allowed the others to talk about their own plans for the day. In fact, he tried to use their conversations as a way to distract himself from his own plans. Even after he knew that he could do no more to the paperwork that was in front of him. Unfortunately, now that they knew what he was doing, it was easy for both Cole and Nya, at the very least, to notice that he was still clearly panicking.

Finally, Nya and Zane finished their meals and everyone got up to get ready for training. Jay packed his bag for what felt like the umpteenth time that morning and headed into the kitchen. It was still too early for him to leave the monastery anyway. So he might as well make some use of the time he had by doing the dishes.

He just never expected Nya to stay back while the rest of the team left the kitchen.

“ I know you’re still worried over what’s going to happen today, Jay.” Nya said, making her way to her boyfriend’s side.

“ Worried is an understatement.” Jay replied under his breath.

“ Everything’s going to be fine. Just do what you did last time.”

“ Last time?”

“ Back during Nadakhan’s reign of terror. What did you do when your parents told you you were adopted then and handed you the key? What did you do once you were given that letter?”

“ Well, I made my first wish and was given the letter by the postman, freaked out because I thought it was talking about my dad and not Cliff Gordon, got told that I was adopted after freaking out hard, freaked out some more after that before heading out to the villa, had a look around and found out that my birth father was Cliff Gordon, freaked out some more because Nadakhan showed up then made my second wish and you showed up and I took a vow of silence… at least on the matter of wishes and Nadakhan. Then you guys got angry with me for taking that vow of silence and everything escalated from there.” Jay took that moment to turn to face Nya with a sheepish look on his face. “ I never actually went through all the legal stuff that usually comes with an inheritance.”

“ Jay!” Nya called out in exasperation.

“ I know, I know. It was stupid of me. But I’m doing it right this time around.”

“ Good.” The water ninja took a deep breath to calm herself down. “ Look, Jay. I get that it’s hard but do try and calm down. There’s no need to panic over this. I promise, we’re all behind you. And, if you do feel threatened, you know you can activate the tracker and we’ll be there as fast as we can be.”

Jay nodded at her words. “ Yeah. I know.”

Nya planted a quick kiss on Jay’s cheek, forcing him to look away from the dishes and into her mesmerizing eyes in surprise.

“ You’ll be fine. Besides, I want an _official_ tour of your new villa.” The water ninja said with a smile, the glint in her eyes somehow managing to wrestle a smile out of Jay as she spoke.


	4. chapter 4

Jay landed his energy dragon just in front of the starry gates to his new villa, the electrified beast returning to its natural state with a soft zing. It was afternoon now, the sun high in the sky. The morning, just like the others had said, had been fine. Nothing had come to kidnap him in whatever way his mind had decided to think up in its panic and Guy Regent had been quite nice about his job as both Cliff Gordon’s lawyer and executor.

The older man had even extended his services to Jay, though the blue ninja wasn’t too sure he wanted an executor just yet… and he didn’t really know if he was going to need a lawyer in the future. But still he was kind enough to say that he would think about things first.

Despite all this, it had taken the better part of the morning to sort everything out from the bank accounts to the paperwork that Jay had been fussing over during breakfast. And Jay had left the monastery at eight so that he would make sure to be in the city for his appointment… arriving nearly forty-five minutes earlier than intended because of how fast he had been flying thanks to his still panicked mind.

He really needed to get a hold of his anxiety one of these days.

Jay looked beyond the gates at the villa that sat on the hill, _his_ villa. Despite it sitting empty for over a year, and from this distance, the building looked in good nick. The land around it, though wooded, looked like it had been cared for. Even the gates he was standing in front of looked almost as if they had just come from the factory despite the clear signs of use around the lock and hinges.

The sad thing was, Jay knew he was stalling. He had been poor all his life. Now he found himself on the other end of the spectrum. Now he was a millionaire. And he had no idea what to do about it.

Taking a deep breath, Jay inserted the key in the lock. It was now or never. True, he could probably turn back at any time between the gates and the door leading into the villa itself. But then he would have Nya’s wrath to deal with when he eventually didn’t give her the official tour of his new villa like he had promised. And that had to be scarier than Nadakhan and the Tiger Widow spider put together. Nya’s wrath was right up there with her brother’s.

He turned the key, pushed open the gates and walked up the stone path to the front doors.

To any random person who was watching him, he would have looked confident and strong in his steps to the door. To anyone who knew him, he was clearly putting on a brave face as he walked with an almost petrified stance to what they could only think of was his doom. And, if one could hear him, they would know instantly that he was trying to talk himself into entering the building that he was walking towards.

This time he didn’t even stop at the door. He just walked right on into the villa, pushing open the doors with a little more force than he intended… and immediately winced when he saw them bounce a little against the hinges and he realised just how much force he had used. But even this familiar sight seemed to awe Jay as he stood in the foyer of his new villa.

The villa looked exactly the same as it had the first time he had walked in and taken a look at his inheritance. Not a speck of dirt could be seen anywhere in the building and nothing seemed to have been moved even an inch from that day that never existed. All the artworks were the same and, just like everything else in the room, without a speck of dirt along their frames. Even the banners hanging from the ceiling were the same.

And the giant lounge room just off the foyer was also immaculately clean and just how he remembered. The trophies were shining, the giant animatronic of Fritz Donnegan was still as imposing as ever… and apparently still in working order as he neared it if the famous quote had anything to say about that. Jay made a mental note to fix that later so that it wouldn’t interrupt any important meetings or plan making.

Over on the side wall, the blue ninja noticed the innocent seeming switch panel and his features quickly moulded into an expression of suspicion. The last time he had gone over to it, he had made a fool of himself in front of the other ninja minus Kai. This time, he was going to learn what every little button in the house did before he even thought about showing the others around. And he was going to start with this one.

“ You’re not going to get me this time, switch panel.” He grumbled to himself as he made his way across the room.

Jay spend the next five minutes making sure he knew the ins and outs of that one switch panel.

Once he was sure he knew which button controlled the lights and which button controlled the hidden television, he made his way to the trophy shelf. He pulled at the Cliff Gordon statue that opened the secret door into the secret room and went in, expecting to find at least some dust. But, just like before, there was no dust in sight.

Whoever cleaned this villa did a seriously good job if they managed to find the secret make-up room and clean it without barely touching anything. The lights were all in working order, the costumes looked as if they had been pressed only the day before, the blue ninja shrine remained unchanged from the last time he had seen it. And the book in the corner of the room didn’t seem to have a speck of dust on it despite looking like it did.

Jay eyed that book with disdain.

As much as he was thankful that the book was able to confirm his father’s name and thus his birth name, as well as managing to stop the tiger widow spider from making him its next victim in that alternate timeline, the words that were in it were also trouble. He learnt that the hard way. Thinking on it now, he wondered why he ever decided to divert away from the wise words that Nya had spoken on their first ever date.

_“ Remember… you are the best you.”_

Even looking at the book now, Nya’s voice reminded him to be true to himself. With a curt nod at the memory, Jay turned away from _Cliff Gordon’s Guide to Wooing Women_ and left the room in peace. Though his eyes did linger a little longer on the shrine that his father had made in his honour. Once more, the thought occurred to him. If Cliff was willing to keep watch over his son in such a way, why didn’t he show himself to that son before he had died?

Returning to the main hall, Jay glanced between the wooden doors to his left and the closed sliding screen in front of him, trying to figure out which area he should check out next. The wooden doors probably lead outside – and he wanted to check out the inside of the house before heading back outside – so, sliding door it was. With determined steps, he made his way over and opened the door.

The room beyond could only be described as Cole’s favourite room; the kitchen. And, just like every other room that seemed to be in this building, it was in pristine condition. In the centre of the room was a large white countertop island with black wood cupboards and black accents. Another countertop along the wall behind it was also sitting on top of black wood cupboards while the cupboards to its right were a pristine white colour. The dark blue chairs around the island seemed to be the only other spot of colour besides the row of potted herbs that also made the island their home.

Just to the side of the white cupboards was another, smaller door. This door, Jay found out, led into the villa’s rather large, walk-in pantry… which was currently empty but still somehow immaculately clean. This led Jay into looking for the fridge which, after a few minutes of hunting, he found was also empty. But he also expected nothing less considering the villa had been empty itself for over a year.

Beyond the kitchen was the laundry room, a small downstairs bathroom, and small study area with a glass sliding door that led to the backyard. And from that glass door, Jay could clearly see a massive swimming pool and jacuzzi spa that looked like it could fit ten people in it. His eyes nearly popped out of his head at the sight. The pool had a cave and waterfall in it, it was that large. Not to mention it had to be at least the size of an Olympic swimming pool if not bigger.

Jay had to pull himself away from the glass doors and the images of him and his team enjoying themselves in that pool and spa. It was a good dream, though, and he found it hard to pull himself away. But, in the end, he reminded himself that he still had the second floor to explore… and the possibility of getting a better view of the backyard to go with it.

Almost reluctantly, the blue ninja left the ground floor and headed back to the main hall and up the stairs closest to the kitchen. Looking down the hallway, he noticed the two single sliding doors to the right - almost sandwiching a wooden door that seemed out of place – and the twin sliding doors at the very end of the hallway.

The wooden door, Jay had to guess, led to the upper floor bathroom. And it was just as immaculate as every other room in the villa. It had soft blue accents with an even paler blue colour streaking gently across its walls reminiscent of lightning. The bathtub, shower, toilet and cabinet were all white with the taps and water basin a gleaming silver. The floor was tiled and a dark blue in contrast to all the light colours of the room. All in all, the upstairs bathroom looked a lot like a larger version of the downstairs bathroom which only had a toilet and wash basin.

The room to the right of the bathroom was a simple guest bedroom with a built-in wardrobe. The centre of the room was home to a double bed with white and blue bedsheets and pillows. A blue and white rug graced the end of the bed with the same shade of blue as the thick stripe across the walls. Like in the kitchen, the bedside tables were made of black wood with a white lamp sitting on each of them. The simple set of drawers and matching mirror were of the same black wood as the rest of the furniture and on either side of that were matching wall hangings to those in the main entry with words of ‘peace’ and ‘tranquillity’ embroidered into them. The window hangings had blue dragons printed on them, much like the dragon on the giant vase in the main entry, and to complete the room, a single panoramic image of a calm beach rested on the wall above the bed.

It seemed there was a colour scheme going on in the house, because blue was everywhere. Even the sliding door to the bedroom on the other side of the bathroom had a blue pattern to the paper sheets. Only, on closer inspection did Jay realised that that blue pattern was, in fact, little images of cartoon lightning bolts. And yet, he could feel the nervousness building up in him at the very sight of the door, like he knew that this door would lead him into a world that he could never return from.

And it was a different world when he finally got up the courage to open the door. In fact, it was almost like time had stopped beyond the doorframe, yet not a speck of dust was welcome within the four walls.

Jay felt his heart skip a beat.

It was a baby’s room.

A blue baby’s room.

The walls were half blue, half white with a showering of silver coloured cartoon lightning bolts going diagonally across the wall that was behind the white crib. Even the baby mobile above the crib had little lightning bolts attached to it alongside some stars and a crescent moon. Between the crib and the blue and white changing cot sat a black wood rocking chair with white padding and a blue throw rug draped across its back, a matching foot stool resting in front of the chair. Across from the changing cot sat the dark wood dresser with a white lamp resting beside a surprisingly simple wooden carousel with little dragons. A pile of soft toys rested in the corner between the dresser and the crib.

The final piece of furniture in the room was the dark wood set of shelves. Story books and photo albums lined the higher shelves while the lower shelves found themselves home to a selection of boxes which were full of baby toys and other baby necessities. But it was the large looking photo album that was smack-dab in the middle of the bookshelf that caught Jay’s attention.

There was nothing overly impressive about it, really. It was black leather with gold trimmings. But it was the fact that it had his name embossed in gold on the spine that caught his eye. Without realising what he was doing, he reached up to try and reach it… and cursed his short stature when his fingers barely grazed the album. Very quickly, he found that jumping to try and reach it at least moved it closer to the edge of the shelf.

But it was still out of reach.

So, he did the logical thing and started looking around the room for anything that he could use to help give him that extra bit of height he obviously needed. His eyes landed on the foot stool. From the looks of it, the foot stool was able to rock in time with the rocking chair… but it was also the only thing that seemed sturdy enough to not break underneath him. It just meant that he was going to have to be extra careful not to swing on the stool.

He pulled the stool over and climbed on, wobbling slightly as he did so. But at least he was now tall enough to reach the photo album. Very carefully, he reached up to the album, trying not to lose his balance. His hand closed around it, easily enough. The danger came when he pulled it off the shelf and lost his balance, taking a step back onto thin air and falling flat on his back as the stool tipped back with him.

To add insult to injury, the photo album slipped out of Jay’s hand as he fell and landed, flat surface down, onto his face, the bottom edge of the album pressing against the tracking device that was the top button of his dress shirt.

“ Okay. So that wasn’t the best plan.” Jay muttered to himself, sitting up and rubbing at his face where he was almost sure there was going to be a photo album imprint. “ At least no one was here to see it.”

He eyed the offending album, trying to understand what was so intriguing about the thing that caused him to essentially fall from a rocking foot stool, before shrugging his shoulders and picking it up from where it had landed on his lap. Carrying it over to the rocking chair, he got himself comfortable and opened the cover.

The first image he was graced with was of a loving, young couple. The woman was heavily pregnant but a smile whipped across her freckled face almost touching her ears, her golden hair cascading down her back in waves as she held her bulging stomach. But not even the shine in her brilliant blue eyes could hide the fact that something was wrong. An obviously young Cliff Gordon stood beside her holding what looked like a wooden winner’s plaque showing an ultrasound of a baby and the words ‘It’s A Boy!’ etched into the golden plate underneath. The smile on Cliff’s face was just as big as the one on his partner’s face.

It took a few minutes of just staring at the picture before Jay realised that he was looking at a photo of his own gender reveal. The ultrasound image was the first ever image that would be taken of him, the first ever look of the next master of lightning. And that meant that the woman had been his mother.

Taking his phone from his pocket and opening it to a picture of himself and Nya on one of their more recent dates (that Nya had surprisingly insisted he have a photo of on his phone), he could immediately see the resemblances he had between his parents. His hair was a mixture of both parents in colour, as were his eyebrows, but it seemed to take more of his mother’s genes in the sense of curls. He had his father’s nose and facial shape, but his mother’s chin and eyes.

Those eyes.

Even in the photos in front of him one could clearly tell that they were literally electrifying. Jay’s eyes were a slightly darker blue than his mother’s, but they clearly showed the power he hid within himself. That same power could also be seen in his mother’s ill eyes.

Jay continued looking through the album, rocking the chair lightly and hoping to find out more about his birth family as he searched each picture and letter he found within the covers he held between his hands.


	5. chapter 5

Training had been going quite well… until Nya’s phone started blaring the emergency signal at full volume throughout the courtyard.

Kai stumbled a little in his kata before turning to the offending electronic with a scowl on his face. Lloyd and Zane both looked up with confused looks on their faces as they both tried to work out what was going on. Cole had just managed to slam his hammer into the ground when it happened, so he instantly thought that he’d accidentally done something to Nya’s phone which was resting by the stairs to the temple. And Nya used the momentum she had from dodging said hammer to turn and charge at the device, panic clear on her face as she did so.

“ Nya, what’s wrong?” Lloyd called, stepping away from his training partner and turning to the panicking girl.

“ Jay’s tracking device. It’s been activated.” Nya didn’t even look up from the screen, but her quiet voice echoed through the courtyard.

Instantly, the boys were crowding around Nya, trying to look over her shoulders at the little device in her hand and assess the situation they had suddenly found themselves in. Of course, none of them could actually see anything on the screen except a blinking red dot. Kai, who had found himself the farthest from his sister’s left, tried to snatch the phone away and get a better view for himself… only to be blocked by Nya’s hand.

“ This is my phone.” She growled in response to his huff.

“ Yeah and my friend could be in trouble.” He growled back.

“ _Our_ friend, you mean.” Cole stated with a glare at the red ninja.

“ Yeah, yeah. Our friend.”

Zane turned his eyes from the bickering ninja to the phone in Nya’s hands. “ Technically, Jay is more than just a friend. He is our brother and, more importantly, Nya’s Yin. I suggest we take the phone to a larger screen so we may all see where it is Jay has found himself.”

“ Right.” The others agreed in unison, Nya dashing into the temple almost as soon as the word had left their mouths.

She led the boys down the hallway and into the computer room where they usually went to get their various missions… or wanted to use the massive computer that took up the majority of the back wall to scout out new eateries (Cole), order new video games (Jay) or order completely unnecessary hair products that barely did anything (Kai). A massive workstation also made its home in the room alongside bookshelves and cabinets that looked full of blueprints and other kinds of paperwork.

The water ninja went to one of the drawers in the cabinet closest to the massive computer and pulled out a USB cord, quickly plugging it in and accessing the search engine. Almost instantly a map of Ninjago City popped up on the screen, the red dot blinking over the richer outskirts of the city. She zoomed in until the red dot pulsed over a particular building and took down the co-ordinates, trying not to let on that she had a feeling of where exactly the building was.

“ Um… who would want to kidnap Jay and take him to the rich part of town?” Kai asked, studying the location. “ Wouldn’t you want to take your prisoner to the more shadier parts instead?”

“ Maybe he’s still putting up a fight?” Cole shrugged. “ They probably haven’t been able to catch him yet.”

“ Or he could be seriously hurt.” Now Lloyd was starting to show how worried he really was.

“ Then, what are we waiting for? Let’s go!” Nya called, already unplugging her phone from the computer.

“ But, Nya, we barely know where we’re going!”

Nya turned at the words, a hard look in her eyes as she faced the boys. Kai was starting to get suspicious of her behaviour if the glint in his amber eyes were anything to go by. Cole, Lloyd and Zane all looked like they were trying to hide their fear of what she could do to them and their worry for whatever Jay had gotten himself into.

“ We’ve got the co-ordinates and the address.” She said with a slight huff that she tried to hold back.

But Kai caught it and his eyes narrowed slightly as he watched his sister make her way towards the door. “ And how do you know the address?”

“ I, uh, looked it up on the way here on my phone.” It was a lie, but there was no way that she was going to tell them that she already knew where they were going. “ Now, come on. Dragons will be quicker.”

“ How do you know?” This time it was Cole who was starting to get suspicious.

Oh, the joys of knowing things the others didn’t. Now she was beginning to understand where Jay was coming from when he was trying to hide the events of Nadakhan from them. And essentially being the only girl ninja amongst a gang of boys didn’t help. It only brought back memories of when she had first joined the ninja. And it was starting to grate at her mind.

“ Ugh! The faster we get there, the faster we can help Jay. And the most direct route would be if we went on our dragons.”

“ Nya does have a point.” Zane pointed out. “ By going on our dragons, we significantly cut down the time it would take for us to reach our destination than if we were to go via our vehicles. It would also mean that we would not get stuck in traffic quite as easily.”

“ And I know the way.” Nya muttered to herself as she finally made her way out of the room, the boys once more following her lead.

They rushed back into the courtyard, calling fourth their elemental dragons, before gathering in the air space above the monastery. Without a word, the five ninja rushed towards the city, all eager to get to their friend’s side in the fear that he was in trouble. None of them seemed to mind when Nya almost instantly took the lead (again) and directed them to where the red dot had been blinking on the map, though Kai was still suspicious of his little sister.

Of course, as they were just entering the outskirts of the city, someone had to mention the other possibility of why the tracking device had been activated.

“ A thought just occurred to me.” Cole called over the com-links. “ What if this is all a false alarm.”

“ If this is a false alarm, I’m going to kill him.” Nya growled back, tensing up at the thought and thoroughly scaring her brothers when her elemental dragon shook its watery head in response.

The rest of the flight went by in silence, no one daring to talk in case Nya decided to blow up at them. It was clear that her worry was causing her to overreact like she was and that, in turn, worried the boys. But by the time they had reached the air above their destination, all the boys could tell that Nya was no longer worried, but nervous. Of what, they could not tell. And she wasn’t going to give them any answers let alone any chance to ask.

She was the first to touch down on the stone pathway between the villa and the starry gates, her dragon returning to where it came from with a faint whoosh of her powers. Kai followed suit with a low whistle with Cole, Zane and Lloyd following close behind him.

“ You know, if this wasn’t the same place that Jay had been kidnapped in, I wouldn’t mind it here… if I had the money, that is.” The master of fire commented.

“ Yeah…” Cole agreed quietly, though the distant look in his eyes was confusing.

“ Well, we best be on our guard anyway. Better be silent, too, just in case-”

Lloyd never got to finish what he was saying thanks to Nya slamming open the doors and entering the building without them.

“ Jay! I know you’re in here, Jay!” She called, completely ignoring her ninja training.

“ And something has possessed my sister.” Kai grumbled.

But he remained wary as he and the others entered the stately villa. Despite being impressed by the place, he eyed the giant vase in the main entry as if he expected someone to jump out of it at any moment. And he was highly aware of the confusion that was now also gracing Lloyd and Zane as well as Cole. There was clearly something weird going on and he didn’t like it.

“ I’m not being possessed, Kai.” Nya growled back, returning from her search of the grand lounge room.

“ You sure about that?” He questioned. “ You kind of charged in like a bull at a gate. And that’s something I would do.”

“ Well, no one’s here except us and Jay. And you’re too busy ogling at the place.”

Cole decided he needed to try and defuse the situation before something ended up broken. “ Nya, we get it. You’re worried. We all are. But we can’t go around storming into places that a millionaire clearly owns.”

 _If only you realised who owned this place now._ Nya couldn’t help the thought that came into her mind at that.

“ Zane, what do you think?” Lloyd asked, turning to the nindroid.

The titanium ninja turned to look at their leader, obviously having been lost in his own thoughts for a split second, before registering what had been said. He went still for a minute as he scanned the area, but almost immediately regained his confused look. And, once again, Kai got suspicious about the villa and what it was doing to his friends.

“ Nya seems to be correct. Apart from someone being on the second floor, we are the only ones here.” Zane replied. “ However, I cannot tell who it is that is on the second floor.”

All eyes returned to Nya as she pulled her phone out once more to check on the tracking device. The red dot was still blinking over the villa that they were in. That meant that Jay was still in the building. But why hadn’t he come when she had called out his name? And that was what urged the water ninja to start climbing the stairs.

“ Nya, can you please stop running off like this?” Kai called after her, leading the boys up the stairs behind her.

“ It’s Jay.” Was all she said before making her way over to the only open door on the floor.

“ What’s wrong with Jay?” Cole asked, his panic only just starting to come through in his voice.

“ Perhaps he is the one who is up here?” Zane guessed.

Nya didn’t respond. She just stood in the doorway, a soft smile slowly taking over her features as she looked into the room beyond. From what Kai could see beyond her smaller frame, the room was a blue and white baby’s room… and that’s what confused him. If Jay was in the villa, why would he be in a baby’s room of all places?

Zane got his answer when Nya walked into the room and over to the rocking chair that was in the far corner. Kai wasn’t as lucky, but he still started to make his way into the room after his sister so that the other boys could also take in what was beyond the door. And, despite the electrifying detail in the room, all eyes were locked on one particular area.

Jay was sitting in the rocking chair, some sort of book resting open in his lap, looking like he had managed to rock himself to sleep. But no one seemed to mind at all. It was the most peaceful they had seen him that day… and it kind of felt wrong to have to wake him. Yet they knew that that was what had to happen if they all wanted to make sure he was okay considering his tracking device had gone off.

“ Jay.” Nya called gently, placing a hand on the lightning ninja’s shoulder. “ Jay, wake up.”

She gave him a gentle shake before removing her hand away. In response, Jay gave a soft snore before jolting himself awake. It was a good thing, too, that Nya had removed her hand from his shoulder. The unmistakable sound of an electrical current running through the air could easily be heard between Jay’s snore and the moment he had awoken. No one saw the sparks, but it was clear from the look on Jay’s face that he had shocked himself in his sleep again.

Neither Cole nor Kai could help the eyerolls or the smirks from forming at the predictability that was their friend.

“ Nya?” Jay asked, wiping the sleep from his eyes. “ What are you doing here?”

“ Your tracking device went off. We came as fast as we could thinking you were in trouble… and we found you sleeping in a rocking chair in a baby’s room.” Nya replied before a scowl crossed her face. “ You better have a good reason for scaring us like that.”

“ Hehe, um… it was an accident?” Jay rubbed the back of his neck, his embarrassment clearly showing as he faced the dark look his girlfriend was giving him. “ The photo album must have landed on it when I fell and I didn’t realise.”

Nya could only sigh as she took out her phone once more, only this time it was to turn off the alarm. There was no point in keeping the tracking device on anymore. Jay was safe… maybe a little embarrassed at the predicament he had found himself in, but safe. She didn’t notice when the other ninja entered the room, finally taking everything in whilst still trying to figure out why Jay was in a baby’s room to begin with.

But her eyes lingered on the photo album still on Jay’s lap. It was open to a couple of pictures of a sleeping baby and some kind of note that was open on the opposite page. The top image looked like it had been taken in the Neonatal Care Unit of the Ninjago hospital with an ill-looking but overjoyed, blonde haired woman holding her sleeping baby, some kind of baby capsule resting nearby. The bottom image had that same baby – still sleeping – resting in the same capsule that was in the first. In the background of the second image was the very villa that the group had found themselves in.

Jay caught Nya looking at the photos and looked down at them himself, his smile fading ever so slightly. Even on the day that he had been able to go home, he looked so weak. His mother looked worse, though. Carefully he folded the letter up and returned it to its place within the confines of the album before closing the covers and getting up out of the rocking chair.

“ Can I just ask one question?” Cole asked, also looking at the photo album in Jay’s hands.

“ You just did.” Jay smirked.

“ Very funny, Jay. But seriously, why are you looking at photo albums in a baby’s room in some rich person’s villa?”

“ Because I was finding out more about my past.”

The reply was innocent enough, but it sent all eyes turning to the blue ninja. Jay returned the photo album to its place on the bookshelf, once more standing on the foot stool that had caused all the trouble. He knew the others were watching him, waiting for an explanation to his answer. But he honestly didn’t know what to tell them. Once his task was done, he turned around and sat on the stool he had been standing on mere seconds before.

“ You know how I was going to sort out my inheritance and that there was a surprise I was going to possibly share with you?” He started.

“ Yeah.” Cole murmured as everyone else nodded.

“ Well, surprise!” Jay flung his arms out wide, despite wanting to wrap them around him instead and curl up in a ball. “ This is my inheritance. I own this villa… and a few other things.”

“ What!”

The room echoed with the exclamation. And it hadn’t just been from Cole either. Kai looked like his eyes were going to bulge out of his head at any second, Zane had a blank expression on his face – so that was a little concerning, and Lloyd looked like he was trying already to compose himself from the shock. The only one who didn’t look surprised in any way was Nya and that was because she already knew.

“ Yeah. Turns out my birth dad was Cliff Gordon.” Jay said.

Lloyd nearly had a kitten at the news, prompting Cole and Kai to alter looking between green and blue ninja. Zane’s expressionless face morphed into something more akin to thoughtfulness.

“ Um… who?” Cole dared to ask.

“ You’re the son of the guy who played Fritz Donnegan?” Lloyd finally managed to get out.

“ His only child, yeah. His wife wasn’t too well when she had me. I nearly didn’t make it myself.” Jay admitted.

Nya quietly made her way to Jay’s side, trying to show that she was there for him no matter what happened and willing to listen to whatever he had to say.

“ But I made it and there’s no way that you’re going to be able to get rid of me that easily.” He added quickly.

“ I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.” Kai smirked, the glint in his eyes clearly saying that he’d rather have Jay with them than not at all.

Cole turned to face the fire ninja with a smirk of his own. “ I didn’t know that you cared, Kai.”

Kai stuttered to get a reply out, but ultimately fell into silence with a scowl firmly planted on his face. A laugh erupted from Jay as he got up and wrapped his arms around Kai, thankful to have his hot-headed brother regardless of everything. The fire ninja started a little at the touch, but quickly melted into the hug himself… mere seconds before Cole joined in on the love. Pretty soon, both Kai and Jay found themselves in the middle of the ninja pile.

When they finally broke apart, Nya turned to Jay, a warm smile on her face and her eyes twinkling. Jay took that opportunity to snatch a quick kiss from his girlfriend, earning a few playful ‘ewws’ from his brothers in the process. If it weren’t for Nya, he probably wouldn’t have been able to claim his inheritance after all.

“ So,” Nya asked once they pulled away from each other, “ are we going to stand around in a baby’s room all afternoon or am I going to get that tour you promised me?”

Jay merely smiled as he headed towards the door.


End file.
